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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Tencent and Sony
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 19, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , Activision Blizzard , Tencent (TCEHY - Free Report) and Sony (SONY - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Microsoft Set to Buy Activision, Expands Gaming Footprint
Microsoft's gaming ambitions are well known. The company is now making a major push into the video game space with the just-announced plan of acquiring Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft will be paying $95.00 per Activision share, with total transaction value being worth $68.7 billion, making it the company’s largest deal ever. Post completion of the transaction, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company, trailing only Tencent and Sony.
Microsoft, along with Sony, is one of the largest providers of gaming hardware. Its Xbox console has been a direct competitor of Sony’s PlayStation. The Activision acquisition will now add a number of well-known franchises to Microsoft’s gaming portfolio, including World of Warcraft,Diablo, Overwatch and King Digital’s Candy Crush, apart from the most popular Call of Duty.
Activision has been riding on the popularity of these franchises. The company reported third-quarter 2021 (September-ending quarter) revenues of $2.07 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Net bookings increased 6.4% year over year to $1.88 billion. Net bookings from digital channels were $2.34 billion, up 24.5% year over year.
More importantly, for the quarter ended Sep 30, 2021, overall Monthly Active Users were 390 million. Undoubtedly, Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio will benefit from the addition of this huge user base. Microsoft plans to launch Activision’s games into Game Pass, which has more than 25 million subscribers.
Microsoft will also be able to leverage Activision’s mobile franchises, particularly Candy Crush and Call of Duty: Mobile, with the latter being developed in collaboration with Tencent.
The acquisition will strengthen Microsoft’s game development expertise, as it will add 30 internal game development studios. The deal will also help Microsoft expand its footprint in the esports arena. Activision’s Overwatch League can be considered a pioneer of the esports concept.
Activision’s business will report under the Microsoft Gaming division. Markedly, Gaming revenues increased 16% (up 14% at cc) in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, driven by increased engagement levels. Revenues from Xbox hardware surged 166%, driven by strong demand for new consoles.
For second-quarter fiscal 2022, gaming revenues are anticipated to be up high-single digits year over year on solid demand for the next-generation Xbox Series X and S consoles.
The deal is expected to close in fiscal year 2023 and will be accretive to Microsoft’s non-GAAP earnings upon completion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings fiscal 2023 is currently pegged at $10.26 per share, up 0.9% over the past 30 days.
Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022
In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2022?
From inception in 2012 through 2021, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolios gained an impressive +1,001.2% versus the S&P 500’s +348.7%. Now our Director of Research has combed through 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and has handpicked the best 10 tickers to buy and hold. Don’t miss your chance to get in…because the sooner you do, the more upside you stand to grab.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Tencent and Sony
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 19, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , Activision Blizzard , Tencent (TCEHY - Free Report) and Sony (SONY - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Microsoft Set to Buy Activision, Expands Gaming Footprint
Microsoft's gaming ambitions are well known. The company is now making a major push into the video game space with the just-announced plan of acquiring Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft will be paying $95.00 per Activision share, with total transaction value being worth $68.7 billion, making it the company’s largest deal ever. Post completion of the transaction, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company, trailing only Tencent and Sony.
Microsoft, along with Sony, is one of the largest providers of gaming hardware. Its Xbox console has been a direct competitor of Sony’s PlayStation. The Activision acquisition will now add a number of well-known franchises to Microsoft’s gaming portfolio, including World of Warcraft,Diablo, Overwatch and King Digital’s Candy Crush, apart from the most popular Call of Duty.
Activision has been riding on the popularity of these franchises. The company reported third-quarter 2021 (September-ending quarter) revenues of $2.07 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Net bookings increased 6.4% year over year to $1.88 billion. Net bookings from digital channels were $2.34 billion, up 24.5% year over year.
More importantly, for the quarter ended Sep 30, 2021, overall Monthly Active Users were 390 million. Undoubtedly, Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio will benefit from the addition of this huge user base. Microsoft plans to launch Activision’s games into Game Pass, which has more than 25 million subscribers.
Microsoft will also be able to leverage Activision’s mobile franchises, particularly Candy Crush and Call of Duty: Mobile, with the latter being developed in collaboration with Tencent.
The acquisition will strengthen Microsoft’s game development expertise, as it will add 30 internal game development studios. The deal will also help Microsoft expand its footprint in the esports arena. Activision’s Overwatch League can be considered a pioneer of the esports concept.
Activision’s business will report under the Microsoft Gaming division. Markedly, Gaming revenues increased 16% (up 14% at cc) in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, driven by increased engagement levels. Revenues from Xbox hardware surged 166%, driven by strong demand for new consoles.
For second-quarter fiscal 2022, gaming revenues are anticipated to be up high-single digits year over year on solid demand for the next-generation Xbox Series X and S consoles.
Microsoft’s shares were down 1.6% in pre-market trading. Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company are up 43.3% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Computer Software industry’s growth of 31.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The deal is expected to close in fiscal year 2023 and will be accretive to Microsoft’s non-GAAP earnings upon completion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings fiscal 2023 is currently pegged at $10.26 per share, up 0.9% over the past 30 days.
Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022
In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2022?
From inception in 2012 through 2021, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolios gained an impressive +1,001.2% versus the S&P 500’s +348.7%. Now our Director of Research has combed through 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and has handpicked the best 10 tickers to buy and hold. Don’t miss your chance to get in…because the sooner you do, the more upside you stand to grab.
See Stocks Now >>
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.